Rivers of Blame
by LostDreamSadSmile
Summary: Cyra has just pledged and condemned  herself to service to Poseidon for her mother's mistake. Now she has go on a mission to NYC to meet the woman Poseidon has always loved, and somehow make Sally and Poseidon a couple again.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: After TLO... OC POV: Cyra has just pledged -or more accurately- condemned herself to service to Poseidon in place of her mother, Ampritrite's mistake. Now she has to live under her mother's bad name, go on a mission to NY to "oversee" the mortals there (specifically a certain Jackson), find out about the women Poseidon has always loved for 17 years, and somehow get those two together again and in the process get Sally to blow off her engagement to Paul Blowfis.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. By the way, I decided to do a little editing about the myths: Amphitrite doesn't do anything that I say she does in the story. Sorry Amphitrite, but I had to make the story work. Also, Paul and Sally are engaged, but not married… yet.

"Come, Cyra and sit beside me!" Apollo grinned at me. It was about two weeks after the Gods agreed to Percy's demands. I arrived at Camp Half-Blood last week; however, my Godly parent had not yet claimed me. Just yesterday, Chiron found me in the Hermes' cabin and pulled me and another camper aside to tell us that we were visiting Olympus, so here I am on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building.

"Hello, um, sir?" I said bowing awkwardly. As I had no idea what in the name of Zeus was happening, I was confused. He laughed in a kind way and I sat down at his feet, completely befuddled. At a few seconds of mustering up courage, I asked, "Apollo, sir… what exactly am I doing here?"

"Ah, that's the question we'd all like to know, isn't it?" Apollo smirked, then he sighed and continued, "Strictly speaking, I am supposed to tell you what's up. So here I go: I'm supposing that you know all about Percy saving Olympus and how he spoke to Poseidon and everything." I nodded respectfully and Apollo smiled, "bear with me for a moment. Well, Poseidon went back to his palace happy, naturally. He wasn't surprised that the palace was in bad condition, but something was wrong. The palace was completely in ruins and Aphortrite was missing. She came along soon afterwards looking distraught and Poseidon, being the nice guy he is, didn't think much of it.

"Well, um this subject popped up among the Gods and we –er- found out that Amphitrite was in league with Kronos. So now all of her children are brought forth for judging" he finished sadly looking at me. Then he perked up at once, "but you've nothing to do with your mother, you're what, 13?" I nodded in a state of shocked disbelief. "Every child under 15 wouldn't know about this..." he explained how the Gods knew this, but I was thinking not listening. My mother was the sea god's wife who, what? Betrayed him? I wanted to run. Run as far away as possible from this nightmare, run back to the mom I knew for most of my life; the one who loved me and taught me what was wrong and what was right; the one who raised me without caring that I wasn't her own child. Apollo stared at me as I tried standing up, but the other Gods and my fellow camper, looking devastated had arrived.

"Bring her in," Zeus sighed as Poseidon didn't seem in the state to speak. He seemed to look defeated for the first time ever, "Do you have anything to say in your defense, dearest sister-in-law?"

Amphitrite closed her eyes slowly, then responded, "Lord Zeus, Lord Poseidon, Gods of Olympus, I was wrong. Kronos was overpowering me and threatened to kill Triton. I had no choice." Suddenly, she opened her eyes and saw me, "Cyra, do not judge me too harshly. Lord Zeus, I am ready for the verdict and the sentence."

Zeus looked taken aback, but his master bolt must have sensed truth because he began to speak in Greek with Poseidon who looked ready to kill his wife. Finally, Zeus gave a curt nod and spoke, "Cyra, come forward to be tested." Apollo nudged me gently with his foot and I walked determinedly to the two Gods. Expecting some sort of question answer test, I bowed low to both and lifted my chin. Amphitrite may have lost everything, but she would not take away my pride with her mistakes. Apollo stepped forward, Of_ course! _ I thought, _he's the God of Truth!_

"She is cleared, Lord Zeus," Apollo said after looking at my expression for a second, "Amphitrite's betrayal to the Gods have nothing to do with this young star." My half brother was tested and cleared, though he was over fifteen.

"Then I will speak the punishment for Amphitrite," Poseidon spoke, astonishing everyone in the throne room. "Banishment from my kingdom and you are no longer my wife." Hera exhaled and pointed her finger between the kneeling Amphitrite and Poseidon. A golden link shattered, making the room feel a few degrees colder. Then Poseidon continued, "We will also take away your identity so you must wander across the world without acknowledgment and no one shall no you existed." As he spoke, he rose from his throne.

"No!" I screamed putting myself between Poseidon and my mother. "No, do not take that away, sir! She was your wife!"

"HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME?" roared the outraged Sea God. He pointed his trident at me, but Zeus blocked him.

"I'm sorry brother, but she has my blood running through her too. I shall not let you harm her! Not when she's my great-great grandson's daughter!" I nearly fainted on the spot. SO NOW I'M RELATED TO ZEUS TOO? My day just got a hell of a lot worse. Poseidon looked astounded, well, that makes the two of us, doesn't it?

Gathering what remained of my alarmingly diminished wits and pride, I spoke with a shaking voice, "Lord Poseidon, please reconsider the third punishment for Amphitrite. I am willing to pay for her misdeeds." Amphitrite stared from Poseidon to me in horror. When she found my eyes, she smiled sadly.

"Thank you my child, but this matter is my fault, don't pull yourself into unnecessary doom," my mother whispered.

"This isn't only your punishment, mother. I shall also commit to taking any blame of Lord Zeus," I grumbled. The Lord of the Sky looked affronted, "I don't mean any disrespect Lord Zeus; I'm only trying to keep peace among the Gods."

"Brave words hero, but can you live up to them? Will you do anything and everything I say for the rest of your life?" Poseidon challenged me skeptically.

Before Amphitrite or Zeus could interrupt, I said, "Yes, Lord of the Sea. I swear my loyalty and obedience to you if you do not destroy Mother's identity or quarrel with Lord Zeus."

"Are you sure child? Are you sure to take this heavy burden from your relatives? If you say no, I shall let you walk out of this room and treat you like any other demigod," Poseidon said as he sat back upon his throne. Zeus looked at me with curiosity in his stormy grey eyes. He seemed to object to having a child take his fight from him, but he looked at me with great interest. My mother pleaded with me using her eyes to walk away, but I could not let my mother walk this earth without a purpose.

I lifted my head to stare Poseidon in the eyes, "I swear upon the River Styx." Thunder rumbled from a far.

"Very well, young one. Amphitrite is hereby banished from the Sea and is no longer my wife," Poseidon said. Suddenly a whirl of memories hit me: me as a baby wailing pitifully in the nursery; me as a child playing and reading; all the memories flooded through me and I was sure that Poseidon saw what I saw. My final attempt at defending my aching brain was pushing against the barrier of his probing mind before everything turned pitch black.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm honored to have so many people read my story so far! This is my first fanfiction, so special thanks to SereneSerendipity for betaing my story and being my first reviewer. Also, thanks to all of you who added this story to your Story Alert! **

**I know a few of you are wondering when Poseidon/Sally is coming in so here's the first bit! It's my take on how the two met and bits of that summer they shared. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. **

Enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Memories of **_**that **_**summer:**

It was like drifting and falling at the same time. One second I saw my childhood again, the next second I was twirling through darkness. Then something strange happened, my feet found solid ground on the beach and salt water lapped over my feet. It took me a few moments to realize that I had embarked into Poseidon's memories. He didn't fight my being in his thoughts since I felt no assault on my brain.

A young lady lounged across the sand on a towel reading to herself. I found that Poseidon had appeared next to me, but he didn't realize I was there. However, he wasn't staring at the girl, he was staring angrily at the sky.

A few short moments later, a bolt of lightning hit the sand inches from the God of the Sea. A normal person, or even a demigod would have been electrified to death, but Poseidon seemed unscathed. He sighed. Zeus had struck down another airplane- the fifth one in three years- and it landed in the ocean, yet again. The information shocked me, I was surprised I knew that trivial fact, but then again, I must know everything going through Poseidon's head. It seemed like something else was bothering him too… I caught a glimpse of Aphrodite yelling at Poseidon a few days ago. Hmm, that was not a good sign.

As I snapped out of my reverie, several things happened at once. Okay, fine, my brain just registered a few details I missed when I was thinking. The girl on the beach suddenly screamed as Poseidon took his trident and shoot sparks toward the sky. Poseidon turned around and the girl came into better focus. She was pretty- who am I kidding- she was beautiful… in Poseidon's mind at least. Her eyes caught his attention the most. They were multicolored in the most wondrous ways, yet she seemed so balanced and gentle.

She looked startled and scared and confused as she gazed at the weapon the Sea God wield. Poseidon looked perplexed, stared around at everything- seeing right through me of course- checking to see if anyone else had spotted his Trident. Perhaps he thought that the Mist itself had a glitch in it and everyone could spot that he had an out-of-the-ordinary weapon. However, no one else seemed to notice it. A human even slapped him on the back at that moment saying, "Dude! Nice fishing rod. It's SO cool! Where can I get one?" I burst into a fit of hysterics as the surfer walked away.

In the few moments the God of the Sea stared at the man's back, the lady walked up to him, her head cocked to one side.

"I'm so sorry, but why do you have a Trident in your hand? It seems like no one else noticed. I'm known to be a little weird because I seem to see monsters come at things," she trailed off looking baffled. I watched angrily as Poseidon threw his weapon back into the sea. He looked down at her with a gentle expression; it looked to me as if he were in love. WHAT RIGHT DID HE HAVE TO BE IN LOVE WITH THIS…. MORTAL? Fury surged through my veins when he didn't turn around or disappear into the wind. Instead, he looked down at this woman with a smile and said, "Oh, do you have time tonight to have dinner? I'll explain everything then." The girl seemed very happy as she had no plans for the evening and often felt alone.

I scoffed at her naïve attitude. How did she know that he wasn't some random mass murder or rapist? How did she know that he was single and that he doesn't have a wife and son waiting at the bottom of his damn kingdom? A swirl of color enveloped me as I ran faster through the time. I learned that her name is Sally Jackson, Percy's mother. Slowly as I saw more of her through Poseidon, I began to feel bad. She lost her parents in a plane crash as a little child (My great-great grandfather's fault) and that she was quite lonely except a few friends who were in college.

During the first few days after they met, Sally didn't seem to regard Poseidon in more ways than just a friend. On the fifth day though, something happened that chilled me through and through.

Poseidon had told Sally everything during the first few dinners (you know about how the Gods were really and how he was Poseidon). Sally was always interested and never truly surprised. She had secretly fallen in love with him too, but as she had little to no experience with love, she kept silent.

The two were walking by the sea when a woman, who looked so much like my mother walked pass them kissing a demigod on the cheek. Poseidon's blue-green eyes flashed as he recognized his wife. Amphitrite seemed not to have noticed her husband and began kissing – this is where I started to lose balance and it seemed like there was no air anywhere- my father.

The thing that had been trying to creep through me since I landed in Poseidon's memory finally broke through my unwilling mind. The reason why Poseidon even came up to the beach: he had an argument with his wife! The reason why Sally was so attractive to him: she cared about his feelings and seemed to always be a comforter. I couldn't charge Poseidon anymore with anything, not when my own mother started it. To think I took all of the blame off of her shoulders.

I physically felt my body roll over and throw up. The returning to the regular world was short. I heard the two voices of Apollo and Poseidon.

"Uncle, do you think she's ready to know all of this?" the cheery voice of Apollo asked.

"She must understand. If what Aphrodite is right, this girl will bring _her _back to me," Poseidon sounded sad, as if sorry that it was my fate to do something. " I'd hate make this child do this for me, especially since she is Ampitrite's daughter, but..." his voice trialed away.

I wanted to scream WHAT IN ZEUS'S NAME ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, but at that moment, I returned to the beach of Poseidon's memories.

Sally had dragged Poseidon away from my parents. I began to wonder about my complicated family tree as I had no idea who my father, a demigod, was a son of. Come to think of it, I had no idea of my power. The only thing that hinted I was related to Zeus was my lightning quick temper. Other than that, I could use the wind to make a physical shield, use it to attack at times and survive underwater for a few hours (which must have come from my mother).

"I'm sorry Poseidon, but …well… this can't keep going on, can it? I mean, I know you think of me as a friend and all, but I kinda like you in another way, but you have a wife and an oath on the River Styx," Sally's rant faded as anger shot through Poseidon's eyes. There was a pain that shot through his eyes that made even me feel sorry for him. What could you say to a god whose heart was just broken? Not to mention, I hated my mother. For all the showy "Don't do this for me" in the throne room of Olympus, she's probably rejoicing somewhere that she's free of that huge burden that ends up on my head! I mean Poseidon might as well just kill me to be even with Amphitrite.

Poseidon looked away from Sally; I could see his eyes filled with tears. "Do you honestly believe that I don't love you?" His voice was rumbling like the sea, but it had a catch in it. "Why does it always end up like this? Why can't I do the things I love without consequences? Why can't I love someone, grow old with her and die with her?" He stared back into Sally's deep multi-colored eyes with pleading in his voice. "Why can't we be together?"

I caught my breath. That was such a touching five questions. I couldn't help it, I began to cry because I had forgiven Poseidon for something that I thought was not possible to be forgiven. He was right, why did gods have to lead such hard, strict lives? I couldn't even help forgiving my mother. Perhaps I had my idea wrong from the start. Maybe some things that apply to us mortals shouldn't apply to the gods.

Sally was silently crying. After a minute filled with the loudest silence I had ever heard, Poseidon sighed. He turned to go back to the sea saying formal, "You're right Sally Jackson. I must return to my kingdom. It was a true pleasure to meet you." He hesitated to turn into mist an in that short pause Sally flung herself sobbing into Poseidon's strong, muscled arms.

"Please don't go," she gasped into his back as the Sea God froze in shock. "Please don't leave me. I can't stand being alone anymore! Mom and Dad left already. Don't abandon me too." Poseidon turned and hugged Sally.

"Shh. It's okay, I'm here. I won't leave you, shh." Poseidon whispered, burying his face in her sweet smelling hair. They stood together embracing as the waves of the sea lapped at their feet and the sun began to set. It was such a romantic scene that I couldn't help to wonder if Apollo had paused his chariot at the perfect place and laughed as his uncle hugged Sally. I could not believe how cheesy this was. It was the old and classic kissing scene I'd seen in movies.

Poseidon pushed lightly away from Sally, who had stopped crying, and lent in for a kiss. I'd love to have described it in detail like what the kiss meant, but as I was not a part of it, I couldn't tell.

The summer spurred across my eyes in a few short minutes. I could tell that the two were in love (like NO DUH). The ending was abrupt. Sally had refused to join Poseidon in the sea even after she found that she was pregnant. I thought that Poseidon was trying to protect me or him from reliving the memory too closely so he didn't have to feel the pain.

I opened my eyes slowly, the truth staring me in the face. I had to make those two a couple again even if Poseidon refused. It was going to be my way of saying sorry for my relatives. Interestingly, I was still on Olympus, not in the throne room, but a little room dedicated to Apollo.

The god of the sun grinned at me as I sat up and said, "Well, that was interesting." I nodded stretching. "Zeus wants to talk to you alone. Er- we think he wants to tell you your family tree." I nodded getting up from the bed where I had witnessed Poseidon's memories and sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey people! I'm so sorry for the long wait! I've lot's testing for high school this month, so I'm afraid that I won't be able to update until February. To make it up to you, this is a long chapter even if it's kind of a filler. Sorry! I've written out the next chapter, but my mom's been hogging the laptop and I really have so much studying to do, it's driving me close to insanity! Well, please review if you have time, if you don't, enjoy this chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS. **

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Apollo walked me to the throne room. He stopped outside saying, "I've, um, have to go drive my chariot. Have fun!" I shot an annoyed look at him. _Have fun? _How do you 'have fun' when your god of a great-great granddad wanted to talk to you privately? Apollo grinned again and shoved me into the room.

"Lord Zeus," I bowed. He smiled at me, his storm gray eyes kind.

"I sent for you, young hero, so that I may discuss you family tree and the deal you just made with my brother. You see, he has his eyes on Perseus Jackson's mother, Sally. If I am not mistaken, he will send you to retrieve her from Blowfis' clutches." I raised my left eyebrow and he sighed. "My brother intends to put you on a death mission. You wouldn't know that Blowfish is a master of deception as even gods have trouble recognizing him. He is a god and Poseidon knew him from the instant he saw Dolus at Percy's 15th birthday party."

"Please, Lord Zeus, if Lord Poseidon wishes me to do this, then I shall. If I can prevent heartbreak, I will. Forgive me."

Zeus sighed standing up and shrinking to normal, human size. "Very well. I shall prepare you as much as I possibly can. We will start with your family tree.

"Before World War II, I, um, well…" Zeus struggled for words.

"Had a demigod child who was mortal?" I helped him fighting back a giggle.

"Yes, anyways, he married a mortal and had a daughter. This daughter had a mortal, demigod son with Aeolus," The sides of his mouth twitched, amused. "who, well… Amphitrite… you"

"Okay, so now I am descended from THREE-NO- TWO GODS?" Holy shit, this was not called for. What in the name of Apollo's chariot was wrong with my life? The more smart and analytical part of my brain registered that that must be why the wind listened to my command and defended me. The greater, panicking part of me told the logical part to shut the hell up.

"Yes. Most of my powers are lost in you, but it still runs in your blood and shall help you if you need it. I have just IM (Iris Messaged) Aeolus before you came. My brother has agreed to let you visit Aeolus, go back to Camp Half-Blood, and he expects you to be at his underwater palace by 4:00 PM with any companions you might bring on this journey. I highly advice you to do so as this mission is dangerous. Anyway, it is currently 10:00 AM and there's a Pegasus outside waiting for you." I bowed and turned to leave but he called me back, "Be careful young hero. You have taken up some of my blame as well as your mother's so I give you my blessing." Zeus walked up to me and touched my forehead with his fingertips and muttered something in Ancient Greek. "Good luck Cyra."

It was one of those I-want-to-jump-off-the-600th-floor-of-the-Empire-State-Building-because-I've-been-given-an-impossible-mission moments, but I smiled, bowed once more and left the Throne Room for the elevator.

It took the Pegasus a very short time to arrive at Aeolus's castle off at sea. The winds blew around us like crazy, but it didn't affect the Pegasus's swift landing.

"Ah! This must be Cyra! Welcome Granddaughter! Welcome!" Aeolus greeted me at the front gates. He was a very portly and kind god. He gave me a hug and took my hand as we walked toward his main palace. I was shocked by such a warm welcome as no one else other than my step-mother ever gave me such a greeting. "Lord Zeus has informed me of your –er- deadly mission and of your past. I'm so sorry about Amphitrite, dear one," He looked at me with concerned eyes, but I shrugged and looked away. He continued cheerily after a few moments of silence "Well I'm here to tell you about the Winds, give you a proper weapon, and tell you who will help you." We entered his castle and he began showing me how the wind worked. He told me that the North wind chills, the South wind thaws, and the East and West winds had different personalities depending on where and when I was. After listening with rapt attention for an hour, Aeolus brought me to his weapon shed to fit me with a proper weapon.

I had tried twenty different weapons before I found one that I liked. It was a whip that was about two yards long. The grip was embroidered with diamonds while the whip itself was made of intricately twisted silver and gold colored substances. Though it was as thin as a pencil, the weapon emanated a strong sense of elegant power when I touched it.

"Good! Both Zeus and I hoped that this would work for you," Aeolus beamed, but I looked confused. Before I could ask anything, Aeolus continued, "You see, Cyra, everything in this room has a special blessing from at least one of the gods. The whip you hold was made from the essence of lightening," he pointed at the golden strings, "and wind", he pointed to the silvery strings. "It was blessed by Zeus, me, and Apollo. You see, this can detect and break through lies and it tells the truth to the one who holds it. It will be very helpful in fighting Dolus as it is the only weapon that can break through illusions."

"Grandfather, this is all well and I'm beyond honored that you are giving me this, but how do I block and kill with this?" I asked as he handed me the whip.

"In battle, your shield is the wind," he chuckled, demonstrating a quick wave of his hand and I was forced back a few inches by an invisible layer of air. Wow, that's weird. "This should come naturally to you. Try it!"

I tentatively stuck out one hand and waved it. Aeolus was pushed back a few feet. He laughed and encouraged me to do it again. This time, I waved my hand faster and the leaves on a tree ten yards away swayed and some fell off.

"Well done! Very well done! You are a natural! Oh! I forgot to give you something for the bigger monsters. For your regular hellbounds, a whip should kill them right off because the contact of your whip would burn them enough to disintegrate them. As for things like the Minotaur, you can try to choke them or use this," he handed me five short knives about three inches long, each with a slender grip. "They are very poisonous and you can retrieve them from the ashes of the monster." Next, he took out a small box that had a ring within it. It was silver and platinum and had a small heart with a diamond set in the center. The heart, however, had a side twisted up to hold the stone. He took my left hand and slid it onto my middle finger saying, "This is the ring that marks you as my descendent. Perhaps it is not a good idea because monsters will target you right away, but the wind will also obey you as long as that ring is on." As I admired the ring, for the first time in 13 years of life, I had a sure sense of who I was.

"Thank you so much Grandfather!" I said embracing him. He laughed and handed me a leather pouch that was supposed to hang across my body.

"This is the last item I can think of that will help on your quest. Though small, it can store all of your weapons, clothing, money, etc. No one can steal it. And once you finish this mission, feel free to drop in and visit me anytime you want!"

I smiled said, "Of course Granddad!" and hugged him again.

"Go to NYC to find Annabeth and give her this note. The person whom she'll lead you to, I trust you have met a few times before at Camp, will help you on this quest. Before all this, go back to Camp-Half Blood, pack medicine and money as well as different clothing. Colored contacts may be a good idea, not that that'll fool Dolus. Never mind that. Take the Pegasus and go now. I want you to have as much time as possible." He kissed my forehead and whispered a blessing. Though this was my grandpa, I couldn't help but notice the power and energy coming off of him. With a final 'Good-bye', I mounted the Pegasus and soared toward Camp Half Blood.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm so happy to be able to write again! **** Okay, now I've decided to make the romance in this story between everyone character show and dramatic! This chapter starts that. After this chapter, my mind's a blank. If you guys have any ideas, please PM me! In the meanwhile: ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. **

Chapter 4:

As I paced back and forth in front of the school in Manhattan, I was thinking how I should find Annabeth when school's let out. The short visit to Camp Half-Blood was uneventful. I packed about ten sets of regular clothing for all different weather, two sets of pajamas, two skirts with matching tops, and three jackets in my pouch as well as some drachmas and money. That thing can hold like thirty pounds of huge lead boxes and there would still be space for more. I couldn't help think of Hermione's (in Harry Potter) beaded bag.

Finding Annabeth turned out to be quite easy as it turned out that Aeolus seemed have to tip her off that I was coming. I couldn't help notice the guy standing beside her with bright orange eyes. He was about five feet eleven and muscular. I blushed to see Alton, the guy who was two years older than me and showed me around camp when I first got there.

"So you are Cyra," Annabeth surveyed me with a little pity, but her next words made me think that we would become friends as she didn't seem to pity me and I hate looking weak. "Well, I'm Annabeth. We've met a few times in camp."

"Thank you," I said, grinning at her. She looked tried-no wait-exhausted. Well, I thought, she has to remodel Olympus. That couldn't be easy.

"Hey, Cy!" Alton greeted me, shaking my hand. We were friends as we loved to swordplay. Okay, so I had a crush on him, but nothing too major, I think.

"Alton, you don't mind showing Cyra around NYC, do you? I need to put the finishing touches on the drawing room of Olympus. I'll bring Seaw- I mean- Percy with me to dinner to discuss where Cyra can stay…"

"No problem!" Alton said with the same cheerfulness as his father. "Let's get going! Oh, we'll meet you in Chinatown at 7, same place?" Annabeth nodded, and then walked off distracted and muttering calculations to herself. It wasn't in the madman sort of way; it was in the I-love-my-job-a-little-too-much-so-I'm-throwing-away-sleep sort of way.

Alton hailed a cab and we zoomed, or more accurately, crawled along the streets of NYC. As I used to live in New Jersey, I knew the city quite well because I had to come here a few times before. Finally, we ended up near the beach. As the Son of Apollo, Alton was a healer and truth knowing guy. He grabbed my hand and towed me toward the setting sun.

I glanced up at the clouds, trying not to stare at his face for too long at a time. I swear that I saw Aphrodite winking at me from the clouds. But before I could confirm it was the Godess of Beauty, Alton touched my shoulder and I immediately lost focus. However, one clear thought formed in my head and that was the fact that I was seeing too many Gods, too many times today.

Tomorrow at this time, he and I would have to go to Poseidon's realm. Just as this thought occurred to me, a misty image appeared in front of my face showing none other than the Sea God himself.

"Daughter of Amphitrite, I have decided not for you to come into the sea, in case your presence disturbs and taints my waters," I bit my lip to keep it from trembling and bowed deep so I could blink rapidly without him noticing. How hard was it for the Poseidon to treat me a little better than dirt that would taint his noble water? I took my hand back from Alton's reminding myself that giving someone your heart would always result in heartbreak and walked a few feet away. The God of the Sea continued, "Your mission from now until Sally's wedding –which, if your relatives haven't told you, is in May of next year- is to guard her close and help with any preparations of the building of Olympus. You can only thwart this marriage before the vows on the wedding day because that is the only time when the true Dolus will appear. For now, he has one of his look-a-like minion replacing him. And that minion is being kept busy by me.

"Oh! Alton, Apollo mentioned you would help in this quest. I'm deeply thankful," Poseidon said in a fatherly fashion. So the Son of Apollo gets more affection than me? That's very not fair! A tear dropped to the ground before I could wipe it. Smiling, Alton bowed to his grandfather as Poseidon looked at me and said, "Don't judge me too harshly Cyra. I have given you the chance of being treated normally, but you choose to take the blame."

"I would have never been worth anything in your eyes in any case, Lord Poseidon," I whisper quietly, the pride in my voice showing though my voice broke.

I thought I was so dead the moment the words left my mouth, but Poseidon just stared at me for a while before slashing through the image. Alton began to advance on me. If he wanted to pick a fight, this would be a great time for him, but not for me. I backed up into a bench and drew my legs up, and began sobbing, hugging them.

Alton hesitated and took a step closer to me, touching my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"Please Cyra, let me help you, protect you," he whispered gently, taking a seat next to me.

"No, you don't mean it! No one ever means it. Not my own father, who tried to kick me out the door for spilling something down my shirt; not my friends who shunned me the minute I did something weird in school; not my own mother fucking cared about me because she just had to leave me with such a big task; and most certainly, not Poseidon even though this is the quest he set me on!" My voice reached a shriek at this point and I pointed accusingly at the sun as my companion watched me sadly. "Your father treats me better than the family I grew up with. He, least asked me, how I felt. Stayed by my side while I was trapped in Poseidon's damn memories! And do you honestly believe in happy endings? because I don't. I won't ever let my walls down, to anyone! Because besides Aeolus, no one has the slightest idea about all the shit I've been through!" I clapped my hand over my mouth before I could say anything more. Basically, I just spilled out the weaknesses in my life to this person I barely know and admitted that I was a weakling.

His next move shocked me. He reached out his arms and hugged me close. Not being used to any affection, I just sat there rigidly thinking that he'll just pull back and slap me late, like my father did when we were in public. He'd embrace me like I'm a little angel and then once we were in the car, he'd slap me hard across the face, drilling the fact that he hates me into my mind. A tear escaped my eyes again and I was crying again, leaning into him and placing my face in his shoulder.

"Just because those in your life have treated you poorly, doesn't mean that you're not good enough. Let me try, please?" He whispered in my ear. I couldn't help it, I nodded knowing that it was stupid to even hope that he could be anything close to me without destroying my heart. The tears kept on coming and I couldn't stop them. He just kept stroking my hair and hugging me close to him.

Percy, Alton, and Annabeth decided that the best place for me was at Sally's house. Percy would stay at the boys' dorms at the boarding school. Annabeth goes to same school as Percy and Alton, so the boys could keep an eye on her, but as both Alton and Annabeth knew my mission, they thought that I should get to know Sally. Apparently, Blowfis was on a school field trip to Greece to study the history there. The group was staying there for seven and a half months, coming back in April, so I was safe.

Sally had accepted me into her house as a long-time guest with grace. Annabeth had told the Jacksons that I was helping out with the building of Olympus, but the Camp couldn't find me a school in NYC close enough.

Over the next two month months, I really got to know Sally and understood why Poseidon loved her so much. How she had to deal with raising Percy on her own and about her dreams to write a book. She was in college these days, but she'd get back to her house around 6pm and we'd have dinner together. At that time, I already started to wonder even if my helping her get back with Poseidon was a good choice. Though Alton and I were officially in a relationship, I couldn't help wonder if that would ever last.

And, of course, my idle questions of Alton were answered on the first day of November.

It was a Saturday and Annabeth had just showed me a blueprint of her of a statue room in Olympus. We were walking downtown with ice cream and were heading to Chinatown to grab something for lunch when I saw him. It would seem too like the books that he was kissing another girl, but he was snogging her with passion. Like he-had-his-shirt-off-when-it's-kinda-cold-outside passion. Annabeth stopped chattering about how many statues would fit artistically in the huge new addition to Olympus and approached the two kissing. I didn't care. I turned around and hailed a cab screaming the address of Sally's house at the driver who seemed taken aback by my fury.

The world was crashing down behind me as I urged the driver to drive faster so I didn't fall into the dark. He was disgruntled by the time we got to the apartment, but perked up at once when I handed him ten more dollars and said "keep the change".

I ran into the door of Sally's place, had a almost comical time of trying to make the door open, when it flew open and I was staring right Sally. She swept me in through the threshold and hugged me tightly, saying "what's happened, what's wrong," the whole time I had hysterics while sobbing. I didn't really believe Alton and I could stay together, did I? If I already doubted this, why was my heart breaking into a million pieces? It already felt like I couldn't breathe properly, which was why –I assumed- that I was gasping, afraid that the air would run out.

A light knock on the door ten minutes later announced Annabeth's arrival. Sally left me on the couch to get the door and Annabeth came over to kiss me on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Cyra!" she said. Sally sat beside me and was asking Annabeth what had happened. I didn't hear the rest of the conversation because I realized that though I didn't believe in Alton's love for me, my love for him had been set. Why did you fall in love with him at all, I accused myself angrily, you already know that you can't trust others, why did you bother?

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry Cyra!" Sally said gently hugging me again, "Annabeth, there's a kind of fancy open mic dance the week on Friday. You guys get off of school by then right?" I knew that such an early vacation at school was weird, but I could care less by this point. Annabeth must have nodded because Sally said "Good, we'll all go then. Don't worry about Cyra, I've got her. Why don't you go tell Alton and Percy about it?"

Annabeth obviously was waiting to see whether or not I cared. I looked up from the leather and nodded with a weak attempt at a smile. She kissed me on the cheek again and said that she would see me tomorrow so we could shop for dresses. Like I care at all. Why did I care for a ball where there would be dancing?

"Cyra, let me tell you about a story of me, alright?" Sally handed me a glass of water and sat down again. I nodded my head dully. "Once upon a time, I fell in love with a person," Of course she didn't know that she loved Poseidon, only Poseidon and Percy knew that. "He was very special and already had a wife. But we loved each other a lot. Eventually, he left me. We could have still been together if I had chosen so. I told him and Percy that I wanted to peruse my own dream and build my own world. That's true, I suppose, but I didn't want to have to deal with his wife. To share his love, I mean. At times, I regret my choice because I still love him. Paul is really a great guy, but he's not like Po-. My point is that, you can still heal your relationship with Alton before you can regret your choice like I did."

"If the man you loved, asked you to return to him now, would you?" I asked dully.

"Not possible," she laughed painfully.

"What if it happened?" I persisted tired.

"No, I can't. This ring binds me to Paul. I can't break his heart. But, it would be a very tempting offer," she muttered.

I let the subject drop and tried to compose my features into a happy expression. We spent the rest of the day joking, reading, and, in her case, finishing homework. I don't think I ever fooled her though. The night passed torturously. Alton kept popping into my dreams with a mysterious girl and they would laugh at me mocking my attempts to escape.

"Holy Athena!" Annabeth exclaimed as she dragged me out of the apartment to shop, "What did you do to yourself last night? You look horrible!" Crap, my façade isn't working. I'm supposed to appear happy today. "Though I'm not into shopping, I did find this really good store for where I buy most of my dresses. I think their style will fit you."

"Interesting." I said with a smile.

She took ten dresses off the racks at once and threw them at me commanding me to change into everyone and show her. So I did as I was told and put on all the dresses she handed me. It seemed endless. Being an architect herself, Annabeth had lots of ideas on clothing designs. Once she figured out that red looked best on me, she begin to go through the whole store, looking for anything that was red. After about two hours of this, she finally narrowed the choices down to two dresses. One was a little more modest than the other. Surprising me, she told me to buy the strapless, knee-length dress over the short-sleeved and ankle-long dress. We came out of the shop with me in a better mood as I had successfully tricked my mind to forget Alton.

Of course, the real one meets us half way to our favorite ice cream place. Alton stood with a sad expression on his face and it turned to agony when the bright orange eyes met mine. Of course Aphrodite would have something bad for me in her love department. Annabeth sighed, said hi to Alton and began to follow me. I couldn't believe that she and Percy weren't outraged at him. Alton caught me around the waist as I tried to sweep by him like he was another stranger.

"LET GO!" I screamed when he pulled me into a hug. "I thought we were FUCKING OVER when YOU STARTED KISSING HER!"

"Cyra, listen to him explain," Annabeth began slowly.

"HOW CAN YOU STAND UP FOR HIM?" A few people passing us stared at me.

"Because I was playing truth or dare at in the dorm on Saturday and one of the guys dared me to kiss Willia." Alton said, apparently oblivious to my punches and kicks. "Please Cyra, I didn't mean to-"

"TO WHAT? HURT MY FEELINGS? SORRY, BUT YOU FAILED!" I succeeded in pulling away from him and ran off with Annabeth following me. I knew that Alton wasn't chasing me because I hit a pressure point on his left knee to stop him from running after me. For the next week, I avoided Alton completely and if someone told me that'd I'd fall back in love with Alton, I would have rather smacked them on the head or call the Asylum on them or maybe both. However, like I said, I _would have_.

Friday was upon us faster than I would have liked. It turned out that the boarding school had longer vacations because they had eight hour school days. Annabeth had asked Sally if she could stay over on Thursday night to prepare me and herself for the coming dance. For safety reasons, Sally had agreed to come and agreed to have Annabeth over for the night.

It was interesting to Annabeth was so good at hairstyling and nail polish and what not seeing as she never wore any herself. We had fun painting each other's nails to match the dress we'd wear tomorrow. I slept a lot better that night, Alton's apology from last week sinking into my brain and replaying it over and over. At least in the morning, I didn't look like the living dead.

For the morning and afternoon, Annabeth and I helped Sally clean the apartment, do the laundry, and make food. Finally at 2:30, Annabeth decided to get ready for the dance. It started at five.

Thinking that two and a half hours was a ridiculously long time to prepare for a dance, I sat on the couch with one of my favorite books: _Brisingr_. Of course, my ADHD distracted me once in a while, it didn't bother me too much as long as I had my whip near me. After Annabeth, Sally took a shower while Annabeth started doing an intricate braid in her fair, blond hair.

Annabeth shoved me into the bathroom with my undergarments and threatened, "You have thirty minutes to take a shower. Then go into our room and I'll help you with the dress and hair. If you don't come on time, I'm going to storm in here and…" She let the statement hang in the air and shut the door behind her.

After a series of fits and changes, Sally and Annabeth finally decided to just keep my hair down and curl it. Sally rubbed my hair down with glossy hair gel to make it stay in place and shine while Annabeth used the curling iron. Thick curls fell onto my bare shoulders and soon enough, the two ladies were done.

A real smile graced my features once they were done. I looked like a model that you would see on TV. But my expression fell once I realized that Alton wasn't going to dance with me. We hadn't even kissed, he was so careful, but I missed his comforting voice and his arms wrapped around me. Pain flashed through my veins the moment this thought occurred. Annabeth handed me a pair of half-inch, red-hot, high heels that matched well with my dress. Sally placed a thin, crimson red head band on the crown of my head.

"Well, let's go shall we?" Sally asked. Annabeth and I nodded.

We were at the hotel where the ball was being held literally at 5:30. The dancing room was magnificent. There was a chandelier with real candles hanging from a large doom. The room had many tables and a dance floor cleared in the center. The stage had velvet purple curtains that were closed in front of the dance floor.

Once we found our table and settled down to order food, my jaw dropped. Alton was sitting at our table in a tux. My brain went into crazy-teenaged mood. OH MY GODS, he was hot! He had his hair swept back and gelled into spikes. After goggling at him for a minute, my heart finally managed to slap my brain and remind me that he wasn't mine. I gave a small cough to hide the fact that I was closed to tears. That was when the curtains opened.

The host welcomed us all and announced that the first song was Come Back to Me by the Plain White T's and sung by a band that called themselves: Bringer of the Storms. When the singer appeared on the stage, my mouth dropped open. I quickly nudged Annabeth who didn't seem to notice anything strange, and whispered furiously into her ear. Of course, she didn't see anything until she touched my whip and gasped. Sally looked stunned, though Percy didn't seem to notice anything and Alton's bright, warm eyes popped in shock. The person who looked straight at Sally was none other than the Sea God, who had changed his appearance through the Mist, himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! The suggestions made were taken into account, though I can't think of how to change the unrealistic parts at the moment… Thanks again to Xx Lilies and Flowers xX for betaing this story! And for the idea of this chapter! Other thanks to EmeraldFlower for reviewing every chapter! As for the part in this chapter about the Greek Mythology (apple), I completely made up. I didn't see anything on what happened to the apple after Aphrodite won it so I made something up. Three more chapters to write after this one (including Epilogue)****! **

**I'll be away during February break so I can't update until the beginning of March. I'll do my best to post another chapter by then, but if I don't I'm really sorry! Anyways, enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians are not owned by me. And all the songs mentioned here are to their copyrighters. I own nothing.  
_**

Chapter 5:

I couldn't believe it. Didn't the God of the Sea have better things to do like remodel his game room or something other than singing at a concert? Our food arrived at that moment and I dug into my food, avoiding everyone's eyes. After the entrée, Sally ordered some desert, but I refused ice cream as I slouched in my chair pondering the meaning of Poseidon's appearance. He was singing his seventh song by now and a trivial part of my brain wondered if he bribed the host to let him sing for so long.

A hand that tapped me on my shoulder startled me out of my thinking. My heart started to race because I knew who it was without looking. I stared over his right shoulder as I looked up, determined to not meet his eyes.

"May I have a word, outside?" Alton asked. I let my gaze drift around stalling for time. Finally, I nodded, a fresh pain seized me. Annabeth looked at me with a slightly confused look but the feeling directed to me was sympathy.

"What?" I demanded looking at a drop of water that fell from the sky. It had begun to rain.

"You know what. You're avoiding me and not even looking at me," Alton began, "And you aren't giving me a chance to apologize or explain." He seemed to be waiting for acknowledgment, so I steeled myself to reality and the chilly wind as I glared straight into his eyes feeling pain shoot through my veins. Taking that as a conformation, he continued, "Will you let me explain?"

"No, because you lie," I said acidly.

"I can't, I'm the Son of Apollo," he said taking a step closer to me as I backed away, "Please listen. I was play Truth or Dare and my friend dared me to-"

"AND WHY WOULD YOUR FRIEND DO THAT? IF HE KNEW YOU WERE DATING ME?" I screamed. He winced guiltily, "YOU DON'T LIE, BUT DO YOU TELL THE TRUTH?"

"Yes, I do when I say I love you," he whispered gently.

That opened the flood gate. "LOVE? Way to show it, making out with a girl with your SHIRT OFF! NICE JOB!"

"IT WAS A DARE, GET OVER IT!" Alton yelled, losing it. That hurt. Alton never shouted, he was the laugh-it-off kinda person. I turned on my heels and ran back into the ballroom before I could cry. Of course, I just made it to see Poseidon asking Sally to dance. Annabeth was somewhere on the dance floor with Percy.

"Sally, may I have the pleasure?" the God of the Sea asked, his voice soft. I focused my mind on his every word not letting any the hurt I felt show on my face.

She seemed lost for words so I prodded her with my arm "accidentally" as I reached to help myself to fruit. She laughed sheepishly and he took her hand. Unfortunately, they disappeared to the center of the room, so I couldn't see them. And now, I was the only one left at our table. Percy and Annabeth were probably dancing somewhere too.

"Pardon miss, would you like to dance?" a smooth male voice asked as Alton re-entered the room looking thoroughly livid. He glanced at me over to me before storming to another table and sitting down. I ground my teeth together. How did he expect me to believe him? And yet, I still wanted to. Then I noticed that there was a man standing in front of me waiting for my answer to dance.

I glanced at Alton, who was watching me with narrowed eyes and grinned up at the guy who was looking at me. "Of course!" So I took his outstretched hand ignoring the odd feeling that crept through me that screamed: DANGER! Well, that wasn't very smart. Anyways, we walked to the dance floor where a new singer had just taken her position in front of the mic. We were only a few feet away from Poseidon and Sally who were snuggling. I smiled as the music started and my partner twirled me around.

"What is your name?" he asked catching my hand expertly from a twirl and replacing his hand on my waist.

"Cyra, for the stars, you?"

He paused for a few moments before grinning and twirling me around again, "Look's like I'm a part of you. We fit. I'm Leo." For some reason, I felt like he was lying, but it wasn't the earth just the place for lies? That was when I noticed the song that was playing: "Tied Together by a Smile" by Taylor Swift. The second verse had started with "Guess it's true that love is all you wanted". Well, wasn't it true for me? I didn't ponder on the song too long. My partner had gestured for me to follow him to somewhere, so I followed since Alton had just walked toward me. There was something weird in Alton's expression, something like worry, and he was shaking his head furiously at me, but why the hell did I care. So I walked on, following Leo outside. Also NOT A GOOD IDEA! Always trust the Son of Apollo even if you hate him to his guts.

The moment I exit the front doors, I couldn't find Leo at all. Instead, two hellhounds dressed in tuxedos were snarling at me two yards in front of me. Perfect.

Well at least I could take my anger out, right? Wrong. I barely took my whip out when a voice cackled. Then everything snapped together. Dolus is Leo. What in the name of Aphrodite's nail polish did the God of Deception want from me?

"Well, I must say that you are a fair dancer for being only 15 years old," Dolus's voice said from on top of a hellhound. He hopped off as I closely gripped my whip in my bag. The funny thing was, my whip was telling me that Dolus was speaking truth.

"What are you talking about?" I hissed, internally kicking myself for not listening to Alton, "I'm thirteen."

"Oh, no one told you? You were born before you were born. Interesting. Well, I have time so I'll tell you. Remember how Aphrodite won the apple before the Trojan War? Well, she didn't seem to want to eat it. One day, when the Goddess of Love visited Earth, she dropped the golden apple. Eventually, it found its way to the River Styx. Distraught, she ran to Poseidon for help. Why him, I don't know, but he agreed to fish it from the Styx after she had promised him a woman who would love him for eternity. Once she received her apple, she told Poseidon to wait for a girl of the stars to help him. Which would be you." My whip still said that Dolus, of all Gods, was speaking truth.

"That doesn't explain how I'm fifteen," I whispered, intrigued by my own story.

"You can thank me for that. I took you for two years, pretended you never existed. I would have killed you, but for some reason, you survived and escaped. You see, I had –er- affection for Sally. So I waited. Aphrodite is known to be dramatic. And I hate the Big Three. She wasn't going to make Poseidon's love life that easy. She only gave him a taste of Sally. Of course, this is my revenge. You can't really stop me, can you? I intend to kill you right now." There was not one single lie except the fact that he loved Sally. I didn't have any time to think about this though because the hellhounds broke loose and came for me.

Between trying to land a whip on the hellhounds and dodging their fierce teeth, I got hit with something, I'm not sure what exactly that cut my forearm, but it started to bleed. I briefly saw Dolus's wicked grin before he vanished. I have to admit, hellhounds are not stupid. They lunged at me from all directions, forcing me to drop to all fours on several occasions. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, the front doors opened and out came Annabeth and Alton armed with their separate weapons. I didn't know where Percy was and it surprised me a little, but I was forced to focus back on my attacker when it swung a paw at me. My left arm was filling numb and for some reason, my whip wasn't connecting with the monster. Quickly fishing out a dagger, I threw it at the beast's muzzle. That worked well. It crumbled to dust in a second. Alton and Annabeth were almost done with their hellhounds, so I retrieve my dagger from dust and found a bandage in my pouch to wrap around my wound that had still not stopped bleeding.

"Here, let me," Alton said coming to my side. As much as I wanted to refuse, he was the son of the God of Medicine. I bit my bottom lip and let him pray over my wound and wrap it gingerly in bandage.

"Thanks," I grumbled, exhausted. I turned to Annabeth who didn't seem to have a hair ruffled on her head. "Let's go back in?"

"Oh yeah, it's almost going to end. Come on!" she led us back inside where the song "So Close" from the Enchanted movie was being sung. I found Poseidon pressing his lips to Sally's during Percy's visit to the boys' room. I heard him whisper "If you change your mind, my castle is always open to you." I turned away feeling a little light-headed. Maybe I should drink some nectar before I sleep tonight I thought. The last notes of the song ended just as Poseidon walked out the door and Percy leaving the bathroom. I couldn't believe that he didn't recognize his father. Sure, Poseidon changed his visage a lot, but still, I thought Percy might have noticed. He seemed quite clueless as everyone gathered belongings. What is wrong, I thought as dark spots appeared in my vision. Taking care to avoid Alton as much as possible, I staggered a few steps toward the exit. Instinctively, I looked at my arm. Shit, that looks terrible. It wasn't red blood that was spilling out now, it was purple. And of course, I faint, everything turning pitch black.

**SEMI-CONSCIOUS State:**

Well, that's another lesson learnt: Don't dance with strangers. Let me explain how unconsciousness felt: I couldn't see anything but black. I could feel every numb part of my body and couldn't move it. It was not comfortable.

There were times when I could hear some things, but never more than a few words like "deadly-poison", "How is she, Alton" or "maybe Apollo can help her". The next time I think I heard something was a whole conversation between two people. A god and a boy.

"Father, please! Help her," Alton's voice begged.

"Alton, I don't know. It would take quite a bit of my energy to even try. And it might not work. She's so far gone," A giant hand touched my forehead lightly.

"You're immortal, Father," Alton whispered trying to control the shaking of his voice.

Wait. Pause. Stop a second, brain while I address a few questions. First, WHY WAS ALTON CRYING? Shouldn't he be happy that I'm about to die? Second, I couldn't be that far gone if I could hear this conversation right?

"You saved her once from Dolus when she was young. Save her again, for me," Alton implored. There was a pause. "Father! You owe me. You promised that Mom would be safe with you! You promised me that you'll keep her safe, but then why is she with Hades? Please!" I never knew that. Alton and I talked a little about our families at camp, but mainly we just fooled around at the archery range and talked about different sword moves. Apollo seemed to give in because he began to chant something I didn't quite catch. I could feel my hearing getting clouded as I drifted toward unconsciousness again. I felt a strong hand holding mine cold fingers to his face.

"Please Cyra, I'm sorry. I never meant to shout at you or –er- kiss another girl. It was for a dare, I swear. Forgive please. You can yell at me all you want when you wake up, just open your eyes." He voice broke. This was wrong, I thought through the fog in my mind, why was I mad at him in the first place? Even then, I could feel my heart pumping a little faster.

The next thing he did made me like I was definitely dreaming. I felt his warm breath on my face and gently touched his lips to mine. My heart broke all over again to feel his small sigh when his lips left mine. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn't believe that I wanted the kiss. I wanted to wake up then and there just so I could apologize for overreacting and feel his gentle lips again. I knew that if I dropped into complete blackness again, I would have to fight hard to come back to reality. Apollo was applying something to my wound that stung, but I didn't care. Gathering what remained of my strength, I squeezed his hand. Unfortunately, I didn't feel his reaction because my senses had shut down again and I was once again, swirling in darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

**I decided to write this chapter sooner than expected because I have a snow day! And I'm updating from school! :P This chapter has lots of Alton/Cyra in the beginning. Annabeth and Cyra help to plan Sally's wedding to "Paul Blowfis" while watching her struggle to stop thinking about Poseidon. Please remember that Cyra cannot do anything until the wedding because that is the only day that the real Dolus will show up. The wedding will be in the next chapter! **

**DISCLAIMER: I'm don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. **

**Enjoy! It's a Chinese New Year present for those of you who celebrate it!**

I really can't recall what happened in the complete darkness. All I can remember of that dark time is searching for something to hold onto and finding someone's firm grasp on my hand. It was painful. Agony. I was freezing slowly. Not burning hot, but freezing little by little. I had almost lost the will power to live before I heard Alton's three words. As cheesy as it sounds, it truly gave me something to look forward to in life. So I fought.

After struggling for who-knows-how-long, I could feel heat flood through my body. It so warm and comfortable that I wanted to hold on to it for as long as possible. I felt a head still gripping mine tightly so I opened my eyes. I knew it now. No matter how much I hated to admit it, the pain that Alton left me with was going to kill me. It kept me up many nights, fighting to keep tears from falling. I couldn't help to think whether or not Aphrodite enjoyed seeing my pain.

The first thing I saw was Apollo. It was hard to miss a God when he was in his giant form. From the looks of it, he was about to leave. I hastened to try to sit up, but moved my left arm and fell back heavily onto a bed in a cabin in Camp Half Blood.

"Don't move yet. Give yourself two minutes before trying to get up," Apollo grinned, shrinking back to normal size seeing my attempt to get up again.

"Thank you, Lord Apollo," I said formally dipping my head a little. "How could I thank you?"

The smile on Apollo's face broadened. "By taking care of my son. Try not to kill his ears when you scream. I'm going to have to pull your hair out if you make him deaf. Goodbye!" I gave the God of the Sun a huge smile before turning my eyes away when he resumed his true Godly form.

I had also realized that now I was back to reality, I could hardly just ask Alton to kiss me again. And now that my brain was restored, the paranoid and pessimistic part kept telling me that he was lying when he whispered "I love you". Sometimes I wonder if I should just listen to my senses and ignore my brain, but I looked at the ceiling once I saw that only Alton was in the room. I tried sitting up again and freed my hand gently from his.

"Annabeth dropped in ten minutes ago, just to see how you are," Alton said casually. He still had no idea that I heard him when he declared that he loved me. In fact, I really think that it was a dream.

"Um, cool," I said awkwardly, "So, how long have I been out?"

"Two days." Something caught in his voice. I reflexively looked at him, my heart pounding. "Look Cyra, I realize that your life has been rough. And I know that I'm not making it better in any way. But," he breathed, "But please don't just shove me out. I can't help loving you."

I drew my legs to my chest and hugged them closely, trying to stop my heart from throbbing. I wanted to trust him, to give myself over to him, to hug him. But I couldn't. There was something that kept me from standing up and embracing him: the possibility of more pain. "I- I can't." I whispered lamely. "I really want to Alton, I do. I want to laugh with you and be with you... But how do I know that you won't abandon me again?"

"I understand," his faced had turned blank as he looked away from me. It reminded me of Poseidon's features (when I was looking through his memories) that last day. Something in it died. Sally had bit her bottom lip as her Poseidon disappeared looking pained and pale. Alton stood up, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll send Annabeth in to take care of you." He ran a few steps to the door. And I decided in that instant that I couldn't let him just walk away like that. Gingerly placing my feet on the ground, I tested my weight, standing up. He paused at the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

"No wait," I gasped, taking a few steps toward him. He jerked the door open, but I got there before he could slip out of my life forever. I threw my arms around him, ignoring my protesting left arm and held him close. "Don't leave me again. Please. I sound so hypocritical, I know, but if you walk away today, I'll go crazy. Please, Alton, stay." My heart had finally won out over my mind. Why the hell did I reject him in the first place? What pain could hurt more than watching walk away?

He didn't relax under my embrace. In fact, he didn't even turn. I clung on to him for another minute, but when he didn't react, I stepped back feeling like my world was falling. Why didn't I just die when I had the chance? I looked away waiting for the door to slam shut. I didn't hear a slamming door, though I heard it creaking slightly as it shut close. The tears I was holding spilled over. Oh, who cared who saw me like this? I shut my eyes and sank slowly to the floor. I noticed that Annabeth must have helped me change into jeans and a t-shirt while I was unconscious. Someone had just sunk to the ground beside me. That surprised me, I knew that no one had entered the room, I would have heard. I looked up to find Alton right there, next to me looking at me critically.

I should have been angry and furious, but I couldn't. He pulled me close to him and I began to cry. All the tears that I didn't allow to show for the past ten days spilled out.

He sighed, "You know, you should really learn to keep your eyes open. Do you really think that I could have left you after you begged me to stay? Well, I suppose people are right to say that 'common sense isn't very common'," he joked stroking my hair. I continued to whimper into his shirt. Did I ever mention his muscled chest? He held me more tightly when he realized that I hadn't stopped crying. I felt vulnerable as he rocked me back and forth. Finally, after the hiccups subsided, he tilted my face up toward his. And I knew that I was in love at the age of 15 thanks to Aphrodite. I found that I didn't mind in the slightest as he leaned down to kiss me on the lips with a gentle passion for the second time.

Planning for the wedding in the following months was quite boring. Annabeth and I mainly went around shops looking for white shoes or something. I decided to check into a hotel, despite Sally's persistence for me to stay, two weeks before 'Blowfis' was supposed to come back to NYC.

"But Sally," I whined, "That one looks awfully sea-green!" I said pointing to the heels she was trying on. "Try these!" I handed her a pair of emerald colored shoes. Green had many meanings, or so I've checked online. In her mind, I was probably trying to wish her good luck, but to me, I was suggesting misfortune. Those two things were polar opposites.

"But I like that color. It reminds me of the sea," she whispered. After I got back from Camp, hand-in-hand with Alton (might I add), she spilled her feelings about Poseidon out. She'd sniff sometimes, and I was absolutely positive that she was remembering Poseidon. Confessing was the fact she stilled loved Poseidon was quite painful to think about.

Once, before I moved into a hotel, Annabeth and I were sitting in Sally's kitchen, Annabeth working on the remodeling blueprint of Olympus while I looked over depressed looking wedding cakes, I heard Sally mumbling in her sleep. We didn't realize that she had fallen asleep on her couch looking at wedding dresses.

Anyways, she had whimpered pitifully, "No, I do love you, I truly do. Don't walk away! No! No!" There was no doubt who Sally was dreaming of. I could even see her nightmare as she sniffed, "But you promised me that we'd be together no matter what. Please? At least one more dance before you leave?" No being able to spend one more minute listening to my friend's mother sleep talking on the sofa, I stood up rather quickly and shook her awake.

So here I was, trying to force the sea-green shoes back to the store manager. I was going to try to make this wedding as not related to the sea (or the God of the Sea) as possible. At this point, I still had no idea how I was to interrupt a wedding and I had only 12 days left. All the major pieces of the wedding was complete, we were just finishing up buying shoes and foods and wines.

I had invited Alton, Percy, and Annabeth to the diner in my hotel to eat and discuss random procedures for the wedding. Percy hadn't really reacted to the fact that his mom was in love with his dad. At least, he wasn't showing it. All he said was, "Mom's old enough to make her own decisions and whatever makes her happy will make me happy."

Sally had kindly made me and Annabeth her bridesmaids. Her Maid of Honor was a friend she had in college. Alton was one of the groomsmen, and Percy was acting as Sally's relative that was to say what her late father should have.

I rubbed my forehead as I plopped down on one of the beds in my hotel room. I had told all of my friends about my meeting with Dolus and the fact that I was apparently fifteen. I didn't mention the part about Poseidon and Sally and the apple of Aphrodite . Everyone seemed to take the news badly. Percy and Sally were convinced that Dolus were after me and they would keep muttering to each other about the possible reasons why. At least the two Jacksons loved each other. Well, that brought another problem. I sighed, again, just as a knock on the door alerted me to Alton's arrival.

"Hello," I said, smiling despite my buzzing brain. He took my hand and touched his lips to it. I blushed, closed the door, and led him to the sofa and snuggled into him.

"Hello to you too… I know that expression, what are you thinking about today?" Alton asked, concerned and a little amused. Well, I thought, I had been voicing more problems as the wedding drew closer.

"Do you think its right for me to break this wedding up, to Sally I mean. Because you and I both know full well that she'll go to Poseidon. The chances that she'll be granted immortality are like 9 in 10. And when she does become a Goddess, she'll have to watch Percy die. I mean, wasn't that the reason why she refused to let him build her a castle in the sea in the first place?"

"Hm," Alton pondered. I could tell that this question got to him too. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. He smelled like the steam given off of hot chocolate. It calmed me a little. "I see where you're coming from. You're right, I mean in the end, Percy is what Sally would die to save. Actually, she did die to save him once. It's her choice. Our job is to crash a wedding-"

"Then what? Suppose we get Sally out alive, then what?" I interrupted looking up at him, desperately. We had no plan that had anything to do with what happened after we steal Sally.

"Go to the sea! Duh!"

Alton rolled his eyes, hugging me close to him. "For Apollo's sake, Cyra, you can be so… worried over nothing. I'd be happier if that worry were saved for me," he pretended to pout. I sighed. Typical Alton, way to be self-centered. I grinned up at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulled his face close to mine. Then, I stuck my tongue out and stood up. "What was that for!" he said mocking anger.

"I was worrying that I might give you Mono," I smirked, laughing.

He raised an eyebrow and in a flash, I was trapped in his arms. "Not that kind of worry, silly," he whispered in my ear. I shivered before he leaned down to kiss me. The way his lips moved against mine was comforting as I relaxed into the kiss.

Knock knock knock.

Damn it! Couldn't Annabeth and Percy arrived a few minutes later? I didn't mind the door and continued the kiss.

"I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE! OPEN UP… WITH YOUR CLOTHES ON, PLEASE!" came Annabeth's voice. I went crimson in the face.

Alton's lips twitched upward into a smile. "Coming. Wait, let me find my shirt…" I smacked him hard the chest. "Ow! What was that for?"

I went quickly to open the door finding a bad tempered Annabeth holding Percy's hand. Oh no, I had a feeling that Annabeth was going to start with the "talk". Before she said anything however, I quickly said, "He was joking, no worries." She relaxed a bit.

"Let's eat!" Percy said, cutting into the awkward silence.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry everyone! I've been suffering writer's block ever since I came back from my cruise! **

**And I had my birthday 2.5 weeks ago. Just curious, how old do you think I am?**

**Now, for the event you've all been waiting for… the wedding. Oh, just an FYI, it may seem confusing, just keep reading and you'll get it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

**Enjoy please! This will be the last chapter before the epilogue! **

I hate puffy dresses. Detest them. Would be glad to burn the one on me gladly. But of course, that wouldn't be a good idea at the moment, standing in front of the church door and offering wine and beverages to guests coming in. We decided to hold a small reception with beverages before the actual vows and stuff.

Did I mention that Annabeth, Alton , and I poisoned the beverages with forgetting and sleeping potions? Aeolus sent me a whole gallon of that stuff. Apparently, he had asked Morpheus for some a few thousand years ago to use on Ulysses if Aeolus didn't like the hero too much. The potion would take effect within an hour it was taken. The problem was that we didn't know exactly when the people would fall asleep. I sincerely hope that the audience would be snoring by the time the minister asked if anyone had to object, so I could interrupt the wedding, without innocent bystanders getting hurt.

After about 20 minutes, we finally ushered the crowd into the church and to their chairs. Then, Alton and I rushed out of the main room to the side rooms. He leaned down and pecked me on the cheek before running off toward the groom's room.

Now, unfortunately, I had to change into another fluffy dress. Jogging past Annabeth, who had taken a tiny dose of sleep potion willingly, I ripped the pink frilly dress off the hanger. We had all decided that it was better for Percy and Annabeth to remain out of the fight (or whatever happens after I interrupt) because they couldn't see through Dolus's trickery. Annabeth had slipped some poison into Percy's orange juice that morning. They had a very light draft of the powdery substance because only Percy could bring his mother down to the sea without drowning. We only hoped that he didn't ask too many questions.

I whipped my whip from around my waist where it was a "belt" and stuffed it down my leather boots that were high heeled. Annabeth was busy braiding my hair, sticking in pink flowers in here and there. The whole ridiculous theme between the groomsmen and the bridesmaid was tan and pink.

Within fifteen minutes, we were all strolling in and taking our proper places. Dolus was standing a few feet in front and to the right of me holding white flowers. My eyes narrowed in distaste. White symbolized death for me. Getting over my sense of my foreboding, I contemplated two things: 1. Why the hell Sally couldn't see through Dolus's tricks and 2. How we were to defeat this constantly morphing and lying thing.

Bad for me, good for Dolus was that the minister was coming to approach "Speak now or forever hold your peace,", and I hadn't even the slightest idea of a plan. Thankfully, most of the guests were asleep. Annabeth was on the verge of passing out.

Then, four things happened at once: Annabeth and the groomsmen passed out on the stop hitting the ground with a thud. Before I had time to hope that they didn't have concussions from hitting their heads, the door of the church swung open letting in someone with long black hair. However, just as my head spun around, the minister fell asleep, snoring comically. Then, Alton was on the floor with Dolus's foot on Alton's stomach.

"Alton!" I gasped, beginning to start toward him. Someone punched me in the back before I had taken one step. My whip flew at my attacker as I twisted around to face her: Amphitrite. My mother. "Don't bother helping Alton dear, your opponent for today is me…"

Sally gasped from behind me. Damn it! I forgot about her. My head formed random ideas, none of them helping my current situation of losing a fist-fight to my mom. I decided that a church was not the best to spill magical blood, so I began to retreat to the door.

Alton was grappling with Dolus. How he got up from the first blow was anyone's guess, and quite frankly, as long as he was alive, I was okay. Taking my lead, he also led Dolus outside the church.

Something pushed into my brain. Oh crap, I thought, Gods could force their minds into others' brains. Then, I thought of a brilliant plan. Silently thanking Athena for shining some light on me, I allowed Amphitrite into my head.

I forced the memory of Poseidon meeting Sally for the first time, their first kiss, the happy times they spent together in their cottage by the sea, they… um… sleeping…, and them dancing together at the ball. As I spewed out all those random moments of their relationship, I realized that they did belong together and that they should be together.

"Why you little," Amphitrite spat, forcing me back to the present. My back was against the wall of the church and her hand was closing around my throat. "I will kill you, and take joy in it. I will squish the life out of you slowly." That brought a hysterical laugh to my lips. So this is what it came to: my own mother killing me. That was wonderful. It made my life completely, totally, worthless. Oh well, I thought as black spots appeared in my vision, this is the first and last time I'll fail at anything in my life.

I spotted Alton sword fighting Dolus. Their blades flashed in the sun light, sparks flying from the metal... Sally chose this exact moment to run out of the church, her face set determinedly.

Wait! I the fricking granddaughter of the Keeper of the Winds, I could force air into my system. I cleared my head for a second, concentrating on forcing air down into my lungs. Amphitrite's attention was diverted for a second as Sally screamed, "STOP IT!". My fist came in contact with Amphitrite's face. I heard a satisfying crack before realizing I hit my own mother. Unfortunately, Alton fell to the ground, blood spilling from his chest.

"NO!" I shrieked, launching myself at Dolus. It was suicide, seeing as he had a sword for close combat, but hey, I didn't think that I could live with myself for too long with the knowledge that my mother wanted me dead.

"STOP!" Sally yelled, running over to help Alton. "Cyra, this isn't Amphitrite! You clearly can see that, can't you? She's Apate!"

"Yeah, and I'm related to Zeus," I yelled back sarcastically, before realizing that I was in fact related to Zeus. However, in between twirls, I did seem to see that the woman on the ground was not Amphitrite. Her face was almost exactly the same as my mother's face, but her nose and eyes were set differently. At least, I thought while flinging my whip out to grab Dolus's sword, Apate was out cold. One down, one to go.

But obviously, my skills at fighting close-combat were sadly underdeveloped seeing as I only had a few weeks at Camp Half-Blood. Alton was pro at the sword and he still lost. Dolus's foot kicked hard into my stomach and then while stepping on my right foot, he kicked left foot from under me. I heard and felt bone cracking sickeningly. My right foot was broken.

Dolus made his way to Sally, almost cockily. I really hoped that Percy or Annabeth would wake up now… any second would be nice. My whip was under my stomach. If I could just pull it out. Groaning in pain, I gripped the handle hard and tried to push myself into kneeling position. Semi-succeeding, I lashed my whip out at Dolus. Hitting him across the back just as he reached Sally, he let out a hiss turning toward me slowly.

I tried whipping him again, but he was in front of me in inhuman speed. His fist came out of nowhere, punching me straight in the stomach. Coughing blood, I sank to the ground again pray that Dolus wouldn't touch Sally or Alton.

Apparently pleased that I was thoroughly defeated, he walked to Sally grinning menacingly. Kicking Alton to the side, Dolus grabbed Sally's chin and forced her to look at him. Alton moaned, trying weakly to do something. From my vantage point on the dirt, I felt shaking. Or maybe I was just shaking in pain… No, something was weird.

Dolus felt it too, I think, he looked up as the sound of waves came to his ears. Summoning the last of my energy, I looked up to see Poseidon's figure and hear his rumbling voice saying, "You shall not hurt any of them anymore."

Then I blacked out, so I didn't see Poseidon's fury. He almost sent Dolus to Hades… shame that Gods can't die. I also didn't get to see the sappy romantic stuff that Alton insisted on telling me every detail when I woke up.

Apparently, Sally was –most understandably- shocked. She hugged Poseidon close to her, sobbing. After that, she blubbered about how much she missed him. After waiting patiently for her to stop speaking, he pulled her into a kiss -as Alton put it- "with tongues and everything". It felt great to know that they were in love, but come on! There were two almost fatally injured people here! Anyhow, after a splendid kissing scene, Poseidon got down on a knee with a small velvet box. "Will you marry me, Sally Jackson?"  
"Yes." Then they shared another deep, loving and passionate kiss, in which both felt perfectly safe and strong in.


End file.
